A few months back, I was going to class in Lalmatia from my home in Mohammadpur. I got on a rickshaw and asked him to move as fast as possible since I was already late. Suddenly, I noticed that the rickshaw puller had just one leg, but was cycling away with ease and even faster than many of the other rickshaws around. I was filled with sadness and also curiosity. I asked him what had happened to his other leg when he said that it had to be amputated because of a disease. He also mentioned that he did not face any trouble whatsoever because of this on the streets. Meeting and talking to this rickshaw puller actually opened my eyes to a whole new world. I thanked God for my two unharmed legs and good health. And as for the rickshaw puller, he could have begged if he wanted to. Instead, he took up this profession to survive.

Zonaed Emran
University of Dhaka
Dhaka
Feeling Shame

A few days ago, I went to the house of my student who goes to an English medium school. As a part of an assignment, I asked her to express her feelings regarding the language Bangla. Very normally, she said that she did not feel proud of her language. Being very young, I could understand that she blurted out her feelings this way without thinking about it twice, but even then, it felt like a bullet had pierced my heart. If this was the feeling of a school student, how can the nation grow and develop? Ultimately, who will take the responsibility of restructuring the nation? Do parents feel the urge to teach their children about the history of our language and nation? Some of our ambitious parents want to send their children abroad so that they can be highly educated. From this perspective they get their children admitted in English medium schools and create an inclination towards the English language. In this way, the students do not feel the significance in their own language at all. But our parents should keep in mind that we are Bangalis and that we had to sacrifice many lives to actually enjoy the freedom to speak and call it our own.

Sudip Roy
Khulna University
Khulna

A Rare Sight

The other day as I was paving my way home through the corrugated streets of Notun Bazaar, I came across an incredibly strange scene. Right in the heart of the place I saw two twin dwarf men dressed in remarkably pressed white flashy uniforms. And to my surprise I watched as they were trying to attract people and thus tried to convince them to sit and have a meal at the restaurant nearby. I could not help myself but to laugh by seeing their posture and gestures. It was a really delightful sight to watch. It is important that we as a society help people with any kind of physical or mental disability to integrate with the mainstream.